Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer T. Natarajan has tested positive for COVID-19. Despite him and all-rounder Vijay Shankar — identified among six close contacts — being unavailable, the Sunrisers’ Indian Premier League match against Delhi Capitals will be played as per schedule on Wednesday night.
A statement released by the IPL confirmed that Natarajan was diagnosed during routine testing and “has isolated himself from the rest of the squad” and is “asymptomatic”.
“The rest of the contingent including the close contacts underwent RT-PCR tests at 5AM local time this morning and the test reports are negative. As a result, tonight’s game between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Delhi Capitals will go ahead at the Dubai International Stadium, Dubai,” the statement added.
Besides Shankar, the close contacts that have been identified are team manager Vijay Kumar, physiotherapist J. Shyam Sundar, doctor Anjana Vanna, logistics manager Tushar Khedkar and net bowler G. Periyasamy.
This is the first COVID-19 scare for the IPL 2021’s second leg, which resumed on Sunday after being suspended in May following COVID-19 outbreak in multiple squads.
